The Woman in the Forest
by Vivien Lestrange
Summary: During the darkest time of this life, Draco is captivated by a beautiful stranger in the woods. AU Response to Bellamort 500's challenge on the Bellatrix Lestrange: The Dark Lord's Most Faithful Forum. "Write a romantic one-shot using two character that are randomly assigned."


I don't own Harry Potter or anything related to the books. No money is being made with this story.

**The Woman in the Forest**

Life at Malfoy Manor had become unbearable.

When his father lost his wand, Draco thought it couldn't get any worse but it did. Potter, Granger and Weasley had escaped and the Dark Lord made everyone present feel his wraith. Draco's own wand was lost as well now.

No one was supposed to leave the house but Draco simply couldn't remain there all day. In the past, his holidays had been paradise. Splendid food, lots of gifts, House Elves to serve his every need and his parents. His father could be demanding and his mother's love was quite smothering sometimes but still.

With his father's arrest everything had changed. Actually, it had changed the day the Dark Lord had returned. All through his childhood, Draco had believed that his life would become even greater if the Dark Lord returned and Mudbloods were put back into their proper place. Now he knew how wrong he had been. His father barely spoke anymore; he didn't even seem to notice his son was there. Draco's mother constantly cried and worried and wouldn't let him out of sight. The aunt he had been told was a hero had proven to be a madwoman, her mood changing between blind rages and grovelling devotion to the Dark Lord. There were things even the minds of heroes couldn't endure; it wasn't only the Gryffindors who had to learn this lesson.

Draco would have refused to return for the holidays despite of his mother's worries. Finding a good excuse wouldn't have been too hard; he was a Slytherin after all. In reality, he had only returned because of her, because of the woman in the forest.

Draco didn't know who or even what she was and he didn't need to. There was one thing he knew for sure. Her kindness and breathtaking beauty had captivated him from the first time he had met her, back when he had run to the forest, crying because the Dark Lord threatened to kill his mother if he failed to kill Dumbledore.

Her hair was red like shining copper and she had the most marvellous green eyes Draco had ever seen. Yes, she was older than him, a good deal older but it barely showed on her face. Draco didn't know what she was but he ventured a guess. She had to be one of the Fey, one of the original magic folk who had vanished from the face of the earth because of Muggle vileness. The ancestors of the true pure-bloods. His mother and grandmother had told him many stories about them.

Draco's feet carried him into the forest almost by themselves. When the house and lands were out of earshot, he waited.

It seemed like an eternity and he almost feared she might not come this time. Then he heard the distinct clopping of deer hooves. A doe, more elegant than any ordinary animal, arrived by his side. She looked around before transforming into a woman even more beautiful than Draco had remembered her.

"Hello Draco," she said. "You're pale. What's wrong?"

Draco had told her everything about his troubles, well almost. He didn't mention any names. Not that he thought it made much of a difference in the small wizarding world but it still made him feel safer.

"Try to look at it this way, three innocent lives have been saved," she said after he had told her what had happened. "Yes, it is very hard for you but still, don't you think three lives are worth some suffering?"

Draco didn't respond. He hadn't wanted Potter and his friends to die. It was strange really. All his life, he had fantasised about the bad things he wanted to happen to them, especially Granger. And yet, he hadn't been able to give them over to certain death, not at first. If it came to a choice between some random strangers and his family, he would always choose his family.

"Your life might seem unbearable now but there's always a way. Maybe it is time for me to tell you something about myself."

Draco looked at her. He would listen to anything she said, simply so he could drink in her voice, both soft and strong.

"Once, I had a husband and a child."

This piece of information came as a shock. Draco had almost imagined her pure and all by herself but he remained silent.

"There was another man who thought he loved me, who "wanted" me. He knew that we were supposed to be killed and he was a brilliant potions maker. Thus he made a potion that would protect me from any curse, weapon or poison. He knew I would never have saved myself and let the others die and therefore he caught me by surprise and made me drink."

She swallowed hard. "You can imagine what happens next. We were attacked, my husband and child died and I woke up buried beside my husband."

Draco gasped. This was a shocking image indeed.

She wiped a few tears from her eyes and continued.

"I felt horrible about leaving him of course, but he was beyond my help while others might not have been. I left and soon noticed him waiting for me. He seriously believed I would be grateful and stay with him. I changed into my Animagus form and fled. Every since, I've been living in the woods, learned some magic without a proper."

After a long silence, Draco asked: "So you are a normal witch?" Her tale sounded strange but not unbelievable. As a pure-blood, Draco knew that magic could achieve many things the Mudbloods and their champions considered impossible.

"Yes, I am."

Draco hesitated but he simply couldn't help his curiosity. He needed to know who she was. "May I ask what you're called? And all the others you've told me about?"

"Yes, you may. My name is Lily, Lily Potter nee Evans, my husband was called James and my child Harry. The wizard who forced me to take this potion was Severus Snape."

Draco opened his mouth and closed it again. This couldn't be true, it couldn't be. It was wrong on so many levels. This woman he had thought to be one of the purest of the pure was Harry Potter's mother, the Muggle-born who had supposedly died for him? Draco knew that he should have told her that her son had not been killed, that he was still alive and fighting but he simply couldn't do it.

Without another word, he turned and ran back to the Manor.


End file.
